


In Winter (You are Warmth)

by r0tkappchen



Series: Above and Under [9]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Fluff, Light Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-14
Updated: 2018-03-14
Packaged: 2019-03-31 06:30:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13969341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/r0tkappchen/pseuds/r0tkappchen
Summary: Kyungsoo hates his glasses.





	In Winter (You are Warmth)

The wind blows again, prompting a shiver to wrack his body and Kyungsoo pulls his jacket closer if only to preserve every little bit of warmth it could offer him against the biting cold of winter. There is a cafe nearby that has a heater on full blast, and the thought of a warm cup of coffee is tempting, but he chooses to wait.  
  
The scrunching of snow perks him up. A smile blooms on his face at the sight of his boyfriend, jogging up to him in all of his charming glory - Kyungsoo wonders how the snow around the other man hasn't melted.  
  
"Hey," Jongin says once he reaches Kyungsoo, pulling him into a hug. Jongin have always loved hugs. Kyungsoo loves his hugs. "I'm so sorry, have you waited long?"  
  
Not being able to help himself, Kyungsoo stands on his tippy toes to peck Jongin's nose, hoping to kiss the worried frown away. "No, and even if I have, I don't mind Jongin-ah."  
  
His attempt didn't work, unsurprisingly. "But long enough to freeze your hands," Jongin lifts their joined hands to his mouth and blows hot air onto Kyungsoo's palm. "Sorry, baby, let me warm these up."  
  
The grin on Kyungsoo's face is decorated with the reddening of his cheeks, and oh God, what did he ever do to have this man as his boyfriend. "Maybe I'll forgive you if you treat me to Starbucks."   
  
"Consider it done," Jongin laughs.  
  
"Well let's go then-"  
  
Jongin stops him from turning and soon enough, there is a pair of soft lips on his. Kyungsoo's eyelashes flutter as he shuts his eyes close, enjoying the one moment and feeling he'll never get tired of, and not even being in public can stop him.  
  
He feels heady. The smaller leans up a bit more, trying to press closer and tilts his head, only to have the bridge and rims of his glasses bump against Jongin's face. They part because Jongin just had to laugh while Kyungsoo groan.  
  
"Ugh, I hate it when this happens."  
  
"Why though? It's cute."  
  
"They stop our kisses. No, it's not cute, it's evil," Kyungsoo lowers his voice to a mutter while he takes off his glasses. "And people laugh at me too.."  
  
Jongin realises what Kyungsoo is talking about when he notices the three girls on a bench a few meters away, giggling in their direction. "Ignore them, Soo. And, honestly speaking, I think they're laughing because of how cute this whole situation is; how cute /you/ are."  
  
"You don't know that.." he wipes the lenses, pursing his lips. "Not to mention how they fog up everytime we kiss. It frustrates me."  
  
"I'd like to think it only shows how good of a kisser I am," a smug grin sits on Jongin's face, "the better I kiss, the breathier you get. Doesn't it go that way?"  
  
"Shut up," it's true.  
  
"Ah, my Soo is getting shy," Jongin slips an arm around Kyungsoo's waist, turning them towards the street. "Come on, we're getting your coffee and my hot chocolate."  
  


* * *

 

It happens again.  
  
And again, and again, and again.  
  
His glasses keep getting all fogged up and hazy everytime they forget to take them off. It's bothersome - annoying. More so when he forgets his wipes.  
  
But he loves kissing Jongin.  
  
He may have done something dumb that includes trying to hold his breath while kissing, but needless to say it didn't work out well. Not to mention how they get in the way when they so much as try to go further.  
  
So Kyungsoo tries out what young people ("Kyungja.. you're not an aging old man, stop that") wear these days - lo and behold, contact lenses.  
  
Which leads to where he is now, walking across the varsity hallway without his usual thick-rimmed glasses, his friends and coursemates lifting an eyebrow at the new look. He understands the unfamiliarity; being blind as a bat had him taking off his glasses never.  
  
"Kyungsoo?"   
  
Ah, he's been waiting for that voice.  
  
He turns, a bright smile on his face. "Jongin!"  
  
Before he can take the first step, Jongin closes the distance in a blink. "What are you doing?" he waves a hand in front of the smaller's face, "Where are your glasses? Can you see?"  
  
"I'm doing what has always needed to be done, my glasses is dead in a ditch, and yes I can see!" Kyungsoo says excitedly, almost bouncing on his heels. "Contact lenses. Do you like it?"  
  
"I.." Jongin seems to hesitate before he finally cracks a small smile. "I like it. I like you, with or without glasses, jagi. But what do you mean with 'what has always needed to be done'?"  
  
Kyungsoo shrugs, the scarf around his neck jostling with the movement. "Just..some things. Anyway, we're going to the bookstore later, right? I really want that new book.."  
  
Jongin eyes him a second longer, scrutinizing. Kyungsoo can never lie to him, it's easy to see past them, but his eyes are too bright and happy and God he looks so excited and cute like that he doesn't have the heart to prod. Maybe some other time, then.   
  
He reaches up to fix the scarf around his boyfriend's neck, eyes soft as Kyungsoo's scarlet cheeks make an appearance.  
  
"Sure, Jagi. Anything for you."  
  
  
*  
  
  
It's refreshing, this new look, but Kyungsoo begins to question his decision when - for the umpteenth time that week - he catches guys staring at him for more seconds than necessary. Or unnecessarily at all.  
  
It creeps him out, raises goosebumps across his skin, and while it should be flattering to some people that he seems that bit more appealing, to him it doesn't. Of course he had wanted to look different and maybe, good, but that wasn't even his goal in the first place.  
  
Jongin notices the lingering looks that trail after his boyfriend's beautiful eyes, long eyelashes and generally his whole feature as well and it's safe to say that he's not the least bit pleased about it. The warning glares he sends those guys when Kyungsoo isn't looking fends them off and he hopes it's enough.   
  
And the contact lenses may have caused some trouble sometimes - not used to wearing it, Kyungsoo often forgets to take them off, and on their dates they may have strayed from his pupils and it hurts his eyes when they tried to put them back properly.  
  
These things; they bother the taller of the two and he subtly coaxes Kyungsoo to go back to using his spectacles, but Kyungsoo doesn't get the hint and doesn't feel the need to; at least not yet, though his determination has been wavering.  
  
It's not until one day that he truly regrets not listening to Jongin.

 

* * *

 

 

The wind is particularly harsh that evening but Kyungsoo is adamant on waiting for his boyfriend outside the establishment Jongin just started volunteering at. It's in a part of the town he's not familiar with, far off to the east where never ventured. His breath comes out in puffs, and he cups his hands over his mouth trying to warm them - of course he'd forgotten his gloves, again.  
  
"Jongin.." he mutters, as if the boy would magically appear at the mere call of his name. He doesn't.   
  
Feeling that familiar discomfort on his left eye, Kyungsoo sighs and takes the lense out, onto his finger.   
  
The sun is setting and people are rushing down the streets, returning from work, keen on getting away from the biting cold into the warmth of their homes.  
  
And maybe he shouldn't have taken so long to fix stuff knowing this, as a man bumped into him, hard. He fell with a thump, his coat doing little to cushion the fall.  
  
"Oh fuck, man!" he hears the man say but he's busy trying to shake off the snow that has gotten onto his face and-  
  
He can't see.  
  
It's blurry - everything is a mesh of colours, white and blue and brown blending into a mix of hues. The little strip on his finger of course, has dropped somewhere and the one in his eyes..oh God.  
  
"Dude, you okay?" The man asks warily, noticing his panic-stricken eyes. He tries to help Kyungsoo up but he moves away in haste, patting at the clumps of snow, fear rising because no way in hell will he be able to find those tiny, transparent things.  
  
"M-My contact lenses," he stutters out, shivering now but not from cold. He pushes at the snow, hastily now, unseeing of the specks of blood from his palms dotting the white canvas. "I-I can't s-see!"  
  
It scares him, very much so. If he had worn his glasses, maybe the stranger could've helped pick it up but he didn't wear them. Jongin doesn't even know he's here, waiting, because his presence had meant to be a surprise and he might just pass by on the other side of the road, or worse, take a different route and there'd be no one to guide Kyungsoo. Of course, strangers can be kind enough to help, but to what extent can he trust random people he doesn't know?  
  
He tries to stand, to move to another spot, senses in a panic haze that he can't even register that even if he finds those damn contact lenses, he couldn't wear them anymore, dirtied and broken; maybe because of the fact that he's dependent on them that he finds them as a source of hope?   
  
He slips on ice despite the man trying to help and even without seeing, eyes further blurred by his own tears - he feels the prickles caused by the stares directed at him. The embodiment of embarrassment. His hands are freezing, the snow and ice biting into his receptors and cuts, his knees are probably scraped, he's hopeless and lost.  
  
God he's such a loser.  
  
He feels a hand clasp around his forearm and he's about to yank away, but Jongin's worried face comes into view. His vision is bad, but the scarf is a dead giveaway - yellow blotches on a blue, they're bears knitted into a background of a night sky. It's the one he's gifted his boyfriend. A relieved sob makes it past his lips.  
  
"Soo, baby," he cooes at the smaller male, gently pulling him up into a comforting, albeit brief, embrace. "Shh, what happened?"  
  
"My fault," the man chips in, tone apologetic as he proceeds to apologise multiple times and explains the situation. Kyungsoo only stands sniffling quietly - he wants nothing more than to burrow his face into Jongin's chest, but god he can only imagine the disappointed look painted on Jongin's face for never listening to him in the first place.  
  
The man's footsteps fade away as dread fills him up enough to make more tears brim on his eyelids, spilling over in a small stream down his reddened cheeks. A gloved hand encases his bare one gently, and he roughly rubs at his eyes with the sleeve of his coat. Enough with making a small scene before, he doesn't want it to become worse. Or embarrass Jongin too, for that matter.  
  
Jongin senses his discomfort, as always. "Let's get you home."  
  


* * *

 

The warmth of Jongin's apartment envelops him like a safe coccoon. Kyungsoo is sitting on the sofa as he waits for his boyfriend, who comes back not a minute later with a warm glass of hot cocoa and a first aid kit.  
  
"Here, careful," Jongin blows on the water to cool it somewhat before he tips the mug on Kyungsoo's lips, carefully and slowly letting the boy sip. He doesn't want the boy to hold the mug by himself, not when his palms are all bruised up.  
  
Kyungsoo wouldn't look up even when Jongin is kneeling on the floor between his thighs. After dabbing off the stray droplets that managed to spill from the cup and onto Kyungsoo's chin, Jongin cleans and treats Kyungsoo's hands and knees, gently so as not to irritate the cuts further. He sighs as he gently rubs the back of one small hand once he's done bandaging them.  
  
Kyungsoo doesn't miss it, of course. He takes it as disappointment and his face grows crestfallen once more. "I'm sorry."  
  
"Baby," Jongin frowns, free hand reaching up to place them on Kyungsoo's thigh. "What for?"  
  
"Sorry," he repeats, "for everything. For coming without notice back there, for causing you trouble, for having you treat me..f-for never listening to you."  
  
Jongin stays quiet for what feels longer than a few mere seconds. Kyungsoo braces himself, biting into his lower lip to contain a whimper.  
  
"I'm not mad, Soo," Jongin's voice is gentle, soothing. "I'm not mad at all, although I do wish you could've listened sooner."  
  
Kyungsoo tries to curl in on himself but Jongin isn't having any of that, peering up at his face despite the smaller's vain attempt to hide behind his growing bangs.  
  
"Or do you want to tell me why you insisted to keep to your contact lenses..?"  
  
The bandaged hands clench and unclench - the boy is nervous, Jongin can tell, but he waits patiently.  
  
"I hated that the spectacles get in the way when we kiss.." Kyungsoo murmurs, voice barely above a whisper as if he's telling a shameful secret. "They always bump against you and- and I was afraid you'd get annoyed sooner or later."  
  
"Oh, Soo."  
  
"And they fog up, I hate when they fog up because I want to see you, and I know it's ridiculous but I don't like it when people laugh at us when stuff with my glasses happen and-" Kyungsoo gulps, now looking small as ever, "I just..maybe don't want to look like too much of the nerd I am around you.."  
  
Jongin raises himself just slightly, pressing a soft kiss to Kyungsoo's lips. Once, twice, until Kyungsoo relaxes, muscles loosened. "My silly Kyungsoo," he says into the fabric of Kyungsoo's knitted sweater when he nuzzles his face into his boyfriend's chest, arms wrapped comfortably around his waist. "Silly."  
  
"I-I--"  
  
Jongin chuckles when Kyungsoo trails off, not responding with his usual sassy remark. "Kyungsoo..I wouldn't ever, for the life of me, get annoyed at you over not being able to make out with you properly because of a pair of glasses."  
  
Small hands creep onto his back and Jongin smiles at the action. "Jagi, haven't I said this before? Sometimes, people grin or laugh at us not because they want to ridicule. Sometimes, it may just be because we're too cute of a couple to handle."  
  
Jongin laughs at the pinch on his back, looking up at the flushing face and resting his chin on Kyungsoo's chest. "And even if they were, Soo, you and I shouldn't care - you and I, we, are all that matters, their bad opinions aren't meant to change our ways. And nerd?" Jongin leans up again to peck him and then the corner of his mouth. He rests his forehead against Kyungsoo's. "I love my cute nerd, I love that people know this one small nerd is mine; what's so wrong about that? I'm proud of who you are, Soo, nerdy or not, and you looking like yourself beside me is the happiest thing I could wish for."

"You are?" Kyungsoo looks at him with wide, shiny eyes that places a crooked grin on Jongin's face. "Proud? Happy?"  
  
"So much I could touch the sky," he lifts a hand to cup Kyungsoo's jaw, loving the warmth he feels there. "Promise me you won't think like this again, or else."  
  
Kyungsoo finally, finally, smiles and giggles. "Or else?"  
  
"Or else, I'm going to sue you," Jongin bumps their noses, "with kisses."  
  
Kyungsoo loves kisses, though. "That doesn't sound so bad."  
  
"And," Jongin sneakily moves his hands to Kyungsoo's waist, and by the time the smaller male realises what's going on, it's too late. "This!"  
  
Peals of laughter echo loud around Jongin's apartment that snowy night, both enveloped in warmth..that doesn't only come from the heater.

  
Kyungsoo's heart is warmer than it has ever been.

 

**Author's Note:**

> (Prompt by Anon on CC: Kyungsoo wears glasses and everytime Jongin kisses him, his glasses become hazy and that irritates him but he loves the kisses.)
> 
> :*


End file.
